Extensive analysis of different allelelic structures of the chicken BF2 and beta2m proteins.

No information is available to date on the different allelelic structures of the chicken MHC class I (BF2) and beta2m proteins. To elucidate the structure, new allelic beta2m and five different BF2 genes were expressed solubly and purified in a pMAL-p2X/E. coli TB1 system.

Deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) inhibits eosinophil recruitment into the airway and Th2 cytokine expression in an OVA-induced lung inflammation.

The effect of deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) isolated from Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm. was evaluated in an IN VIVO animal model for antiasthmatic activity. DPT (1.

Efficacy and safety of hypertonic saline solutions in the treatment of severe head injury.

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypertonic saline (HS) in the treatment of intracranial hypertension after severe head injury.

Methods: This prospective, observational study was performed in an 11-bed neurosurgery intensive care unit of a teaching hospital. From February 2002 to September 2004, 18 severely head-injured patients with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 5 to 8 (mean, 5.

Gender, age, society, culture, and the patient's perspective in the functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) often experience emotional distress, a perceived lack of validation, and an unsatisfactory experience with health care providers. A health care provider can provide the patient with a framework in which to understand and legitimize their symptoms, remove self-doubt or blame, and identify factors that contribute to symptoms that the patient can influence or control. This framework can be strengthened with the consideration of various important factors that impact FGID but are often overlooked.

Anti-inflammatory activity of Ailanthus altissima in ovalbumin-induced lung inflammation.

As part of an ongoing investigation to find bioactive medicinal herbs exerting anti-inflammation activity, the effect of an ethanol extract from the parts of Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae) was evaluated in both in vitro and in in vivo system. The ethanol extract of A. altissima (EAa) inhibited generation of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) dependent phases of prostaglandin D2 in bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 214.

Incidence of ischemic colitis and serious complications of constipation among patients using alosetron: systematic review of clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance data.

Background: Ischemic colitis and serious complications of constipation have been reported in association with the use of alosetron, which is approved for women with severe diarrhea-predominant IBS who have failed conventional therapies. This systematic review calculated the incidence of these adverse events in alosetron-using patients in clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance.

Methods: A panel of experts in epidemiology and functional bowel disorders reviewed clinical trial report forms and FDA MedWatch forms of each reported case of ischemic colitis or serious complications of constipation.

Effect of sex on perception of rectosigmoid stimuli in irritable bowel syndrome.

In irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients, the relationship between sex and sensitivity to visceral stimuli is incompletely understood. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of sex on perceptual responses to visceral stimulation in IBS. Fifty-eight IBS patients (mean age 42+/-1 yr; 34 men, 24 women) and 26 healthy controls (mean age 38+/-3 yr; 9 men, 17 women) underwent barostat-assisted distensions of the rectum and sigmoid colon.

Irritable bowel syndrome: new and emerging therapies.

Purpose Of Review: Irritable bowel syndrome refers to abdominal discomfort associated with altered bowel habits. Recent evidence suggests that the primary pathophysiologic mechanism is brain-gut dysregulation. Many central and peripheral factors are involved.

[The misdiagnosis of congenital cholesteatoma of the temporal bone (5 case report)].

Objective: The congenital cholesteatoma of the temporal bone is a rarer disease which might easily be misdiagnosed and wrongly treated. The clinical material and management of five cases are hereby introduced in order to call common attention.

Method: There were 4 males and 1 female with age rage 10-48 years old.

Is a negative colonoscopy associated with reassurance or improved health-related quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome?

Background: Although colonoscopy is rarely of clinical use in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it is, nonetheless, frequently performed in IBS. Proponents contend that a normal colonoscopy provides reassurance and improves health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, no previous data have measured these effects.

Topical and systemic drug delivery to the posterior segments.

The posterior segments of the eye are exquisitely protected from the external environment. This poses unique and fairly challenging hurdles for drug delivery. It is somewhat dogmatic that topical ocular delivery is insufficient to achieve therapeutic drug levels in the posterior segments.

Evolving pathophysiological model of functional gastrointestinal disorders: implications for treatment.

The physiological effects of psychological and physical stressors on gut function and brain-gut interactions are mediated by outputs of the emotional motor system in terms of autonomic, neuroendocrine, attentional, and pain modulatory responses. IBS patients with irritable bowel syndroms show an exaggerated responsiveness of this system manifesting itself in altered modulation of gastrointestinal motility and epithelial function, in alterations in the perception of visceral events, and in the associated conscious emotional responses. Animal models are being developed with high face and construct validity for functional visceral disorders that affect the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts.

A comparison of visceral and somatic pain processing in the human brainstem using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Evidence from both human and animal studies has demonstrated a key role for brainstem centers in the control of ascending nociceptive input. Nuclei such as the rostral ventromedial medulla and periaqueductal gray (PAG) are able to both inhibit and facilitate the nociceptive response. It has been proposed that altered descending modulation may underlie many of the chronic pain syndromes (both somatic and visceral).

New insights into the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome: implications for future treatments.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a multifactorial disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. Chronic symptoms may occur due to changes in gastrointestinal motor function, enhanced perception of gut stimuli, and psychosocial factors. Recent data suggest that abnormal processing of afferent signals occurs in IBS patients.

Diagnosis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: state of the art.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder with a wide variety of presentations that may include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating bowel habits. Symptom-based criteria and a limited medical evaluation are used for diagnosis. The heterogeneity of IBS presenting symptoms, together with the pathophysiology of the disorder, is unclear, making treatment challenging.

Significance of a glenoid fossa approach for management of extensive lesions in the lateral skull base.

Objective: This article is designed to relate our experiences with a glenoid fossa approach for exposing the outer border of extensive lesions in the lateral skull base.

Materials And Methods: In this series, there were five large paragangliomas with the longest diameter of 6.5 cm in length, one large jugular schwannoma with extratemporal components, and one severe case of petromastoiditis with otogenic pachymeningitis, edema of the temporal lobe, and mental disorder.

Characterization of active ion transport across primary rabbit corneal epithelial cell layers (RCrECL) cultured at an air-interface.

Previously, we reported the development of a primary culture model of tight rabbit corneal epithelial cell layers (RCrECL) characterizing bioelectric parameters, morphology, cytokeratin, and passive permeability. In the present study, we specifically evaluated the active ion transport processes of RCrECL cultured from either pigmented or albino rabbits. Primary cultured RCrECL were grown at an air-interface on Clear-Snapwells precoated with collagen/fibronectin/laminin and mounted in a modified Ussing-type chamber for the evaluation of their active ion transport processes under short-circuited conditions.

Ghrelin blunted vascular calcification in vivo and in vitro in rats.

Ghrelin is a new peptide with regulatory actions in growth hormone secretion in the anterior pituitary gland and in energy metabolism. Currently, ghrelin has potently protective effects in cardiovascular diseases. We used an in vivo model of rat vascular calcification induced by vitamin D3 and nicotine and one of cultured rat vascular smooth muscular cells (VSMCs) calcification induced by beta-glycerophosphate to study the possible mechanism in the regulatory action of ghrelin in vascular calcification.

Adrenomedullin(27-52) inhibits vascular calcification in rats.

Adrenomedullin (ADM) has the vasodilatory properties and involves in the pathogenesis of vascular calcification. ADM could be degraded into more than six fragments in the body, including ADM(27-52), and we suppose the degrading fragments from ADM do the same bioactivities as derived peptides from pro-adrenomedullin. The present study carries forward by assessing the effects on vascular calcification of the systemic administration of ADM(27-52).

Differences in brain responses to visceral pain between patients with irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis.

Patients with mild chronic inflammation of the rectum or ileum have reduced perceptual responses to rectosigmoid distension compared to patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The current study sought to identify differences in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during rectal distension, which might correspond to these perceptual differences. In 8 male ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with quiescent disease, 7 male IBS patients and 7 healthy male controls, rCBF was assessed using 15O-water positron emission tomography at baseline and during actual and anticipated but undelivered rectal distensions.

Protective role of metallothionein in stress-induced gastric ulcer in rats.

Aim: To illustrate the pathophysiological role of metallothionein (MT) in gastric ulcer induced by stress.

Methods: Wistar rats underwent water-immersion-restraint (WIR) stress, ZnSO(4) (an MT inducer) treatment, WIR+ZnSO(4) or WIR+MT, and the ulcer index (UI) was estimated in excised stomach and liver tissues. The mRNA level of gastric MT was determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.

Brain responses to visceral and somatic stimuli in irritable bowel syndrome: a central nervous system disorder?

In healthy subjects, the brain regions most consistently activated in visceral and somatic pain are the key regions in the central pain matrix,including the mid/anterior insula, subregions of the ACC, PFC, thalamus,and in some cases, pontine regions such as the dorsal pons and PAG. Functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated evidence of altered regional brain activation responses during visceral and somatic stimuli in IBS that have been associated with perceptual differences. Although perceptual studies have shown increased sensitivity to rectosigmoid distension in IBS, most somatic pain studies have demonstrated normal or decreased sensitivity compared with controls; however, a recent study showed increased sensitivity to thermal heat.

[A new strategy to treat hyperhomocysteinemia].

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. At present, the main therapeutic provision is to supply vitamin B(6), B(12) and folic acids, and the toxic and ill effect have been reported. Homocysteine, taurine, hydrogen sulfide and metallothionein are metabolic products from methionine.